6 strange tricks to boost metabolism and lose weight

Does it feel like your metabolism has slowed down so much it’s not even crawling anymore, but rather working in reverse? Is your weight slowly creeping up, and despite your best efforts are you no closer to ditching that spare tire? Is your goal to boost metabolism and lose weight starting to seem like nothing but a dream?

6 surprising habits to boost metabolism & ditch your spare tire

These strange, but effective, metabolism-boosting tricks can have you burning more calories and shedding weight starting today.

1. Channel your inner child and fidget:

It turns out mom (and your teacher) were wrong when they told you to quit fidgeting all the time. Because, believe it or not, scientists have been studying fidgeting for decades now and the research shows that folks who fidget are more fit.

Folks who are overweight tend to move less while their thinner peers often can’t seem to sit still for a moment. The scientists even believe some of us may be genetically pre-programmed to move more than others.

And all that nervous movement can make a huge difference, helping to boost metabolism. De hecho, it’s estimated that fidgeting can easily burn an extra 350 calories a day. That could translate to true weight loss over a year’s time. Not bad for something many of us tend to do naturally!

If you son a natural fidgeter consider this permission to go ahead and bounce your legs, tap your feet and shift in your chair as much as you like. And if you don’t move much you might benefit from adopting the fidgeting habit starting today.

2. Drink some coffee:

Coffee has had a serious reputation makeover in the past few years. Once vilified as a bad habit we now know coffee drinkers are gaining lots of benefits from their daily cups of antioxidant-rich java including reducing cancer risk and fighting diabetes.

But its coffee’s energy-boosting effects that can help boost metabolism and have you burning more calories. According to research published in the journal Sports Medicine, caffeine helps people exercise harder and longer.

Another study stretching back to the 80s showed a significant jump in the metabolic rate of folks who drank caffeinated coffee. And that metabolism boost lasted for three hours!

So whether you’re downing a cup before hitting the gym, or simply indulging in an afternoon pick-me-up, coffee can help keep you moving and your metabolism firing on all cylinders. Just make sure you skip the sugars and syrups.

3. Watch a funny video:

Are you eaten up by guilt whenever you click on a bloopers video your friend sends you? Or feel like you’re wasting time whenever you stop to watch a funny cat video someone posted on Facebook?

It’s time to get rid of the guilt and embrace the laughter.

Researchers say not only will taking a laughter break from time to time make you MORE efficient, you’ll also be burning through more calories. De hecho, one study published in the International Journal of Obesity showed an incredible 10 a 20 percent rise in energy burning and heart rate while folks indulged in a real belly laugh.

En otras palabras, you’re actually burning extra calories—up to 40 extra for a 10 a 15 minute session—when you allow yourself to genuinely laugh. So no matter if it’s an Adam Sandler movie, a cat video or a retro clip from the Carol Burnett show that tickles your funny bone, go ahead and indulge and boost your metabolism at the same time.

4. Change your phone habits:

Adopt these two phone habits to burn more calories and get a metabolism boost…

Stand and pace when you talk on the phone

Power your phone off completely from time to time

Most of us who work in an office spend entirely too much time sitting at our desks and not moving. To make matters worse, now that we all have smartphones we spend far more time sitting scrolling through our email and checking social media in our off time than we realize.

Sitting and not moving is the kiss of death for a healthy metabolism. Moving more and sitting less can make a huge difference, helping you burn more calories and kicking a slow metabolism into fat burning mode.

Pacing whenever you take a phone call can burn up to twice as many calories as sitting. UN 130 pound woman sitting quietly will burn around 20 calories but walking slowly, such as pacing around the office or strolling around the block burns around 46 calories.

Turning your phone off more often not only will help you sit less—which on its own will help boost your metabolism—it also can help you eat less. Yes, really.

Paying attention to what you’re eating and enjoying each bite will make you much less likely to over eat.

5. Use more hot sauce:

The capsaicin in chili peppers can help boost metabolism. The chemical causes what scientists refer to as a thermogenic effect, which means it causes your body to expend more energy burning more calories.

De hecho, it’s estimated that capsaicin will cause your body to burn around 90 extra calories per meal. That works out to a modest, but healthy, 8 percent boost in your metabolic rate.

Studies also show that capsaicin burns body fat, kick starts the burning of brown fat leading to more calories burned and makes you feel more satisfied so you stop eating. En otras palabras, there are a whole lot of benefits to be had for indulging in a little extra spice at mealtime.

6. Eat MORE:

This metabolism-boosting trick is the one that surprises people the most. But it’s absolutely true, eating more can help you lose weight. And a mini meal can help keep a sluggish metabolism from grinding to a halt.

Here’s how it works.

Eating only at prescribed meal times…early morning, noon, and at night can leave you feeling famished and running on empty. That leads to less moving throughout the day and over eating at meal times.

Indulging in a mini meal mid-morning, or in the late afternoon, can give you the energy you need to get through the day. Plus it will help you make better choices when you actually sit down for a full meal.

But that’s not all a healthy snack does for you. It also raises your metabolism keeping it stoked and working between major meals.

They key is to make the right mini-meal choices. Reaching for a bag of potato chips or a donut isn’t going to do a thing to boost metabolism. Instead choose a combination of a complex carb—such as a handful of berries or a small apple—and a protein such as a tablespoon of organic peanut butter or a scoop of cottage cheese.